July 27, 2011 - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill (HR 1938) by a vote of 279-147 that would direct President Obama to expedite consideration and approval of the construction and operation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The pipeline would run from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

The measure is supported by the American Petroleum Institute, the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, as well as the National Association of Manufacturers and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, a building trade union. The bill is opposed by environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Unions historically favor Democrats over Republicans, which holds true with Building trade unions as well. When looking at the chamber as a whole, Building trade unions (which support this measure) gave on average 75% less to House members who voted 'YES' ($9,837) than to House members who voted 'NO' ($39,693). However:

Methodology: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions to House members in office on day of vote, from interest groups invested in the vote according to MapLight, January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2010. Campaign contributions data source: OpenSecrets.org

About MapLight: MapLight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that reveals money's influence on politics. If our work has been helpful to you, please consider supporting us.

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About our data

Read the details about our data sources and methodology. Data refers to direct contributions to the campaign committees of elected legislators. For example, contribution totals exclude contributions to party committees such as the RNC or the DNC and exclude contributions made to individuals that did not win their election.

For U.S. Congress, contributions data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org) and legislative data provided by GovTrack.us.

California contributions data provided by the National Institute on Money in State Politics (FollowTheMoney.org).